Brunswick

By Ann Haines

When Jonathan wakes up beside a lake bruised and bleeding, he has no idea how he got there or where “there” really is. He must try to remember how he ended up in this place and why.

When he meets Grace and a group of people that seem to want to help him, he is thrown in to a world that he doesn’t know. Haunted by visions and voices in his head, Jonathan soon realises that this world isn’t as safe as he’d hoped.

Taken from his life and asked to save a land he knows nothing about, from a menacing hooded figure, Jonathan must learn quickly to survive. As he struggles to stay alive long enough to get home he is faced with a deadly choice, Join It or Die. And when it becomes clear that so many would do anything to kill him he must stay close to those who would kill for him.

To stay alive and get home he must face the one thing he never wanted to, the figure in black. And when the hood comes down Jonathan is faced with a revelation that could break him and destroy everything he has fought for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ann Haines
• Release date: May 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476206134

Ann Haines

Ann Haines is a debut writer from the South East of England. She is a married mother of two, a horror movie buff, Tweeter, Blogger and a self-confessed geek............................ and GLEEK (much to her sons annoyance).She has been writing from an early age and even took to illustrations as she went through her teenage years. Although she still sketches as a hobby she now prefers to focus on her writing. At nineteen she became a mother and had to put her writing on hold for a more lucrative job to support her and her son, as it was just the two of them. She never gave up the idea of becoming a writer though and when her son was four he gave her the idea for what is now her first book 'Brunswick'.After two and half years of writing her book and researching the self-publishing industry, Ann's book 'Brunswick' was published on Amazon. She became part of the Indie Publishing community that she loves and is widely involved in. Over the years she has had many ideas for her work and so we can expect to see much more of this new Indie Author.

Book preview

Prologue

A deep vastness loomed over everything. Places that were once green and lush were now dying, the darkness was seeping slowly and menacingly in to everything and without a doubt the people here knew that it was spreading faster.

At the heart of this darkness stood its maker. A tall tower of thick stone walls that were as black as the sky that surrounded it. The sun never shone here, the place was a constant night. Outside these walls the land was bare, nothing was now living, it looked as though it has been swept clean of everything and the remains had since turned to dust. The tower itself was almost like a chess piece. Its base large and sturdy with its length sweeping upwards to reach a single window that harboured a balcony with which to view the land. It was here that It stood, watching.

The towers walls looked as though they had been charred with flames. Inside the large oak doors there was hustle and bustle as the guards and Its captives work. Weapons were made here, swords, lances, shields and amour made to measure for Its army. To the left side of the hall was the start of an enormous winding staircase that could take you to the very top of the tower. On the way up there were many floors which held the guards quarters and holding rooms for captives or traitors. Even Its own deepest secrets. To the right of the staircase was a huge oak door leading to a room for Its closest adviser. She was strong and wise and could see visions of what was to come. She used her attributes well to serve It and had not let It down so far. Guards patrolled the outer walls to watch for attack, so far there had never been a battle of any kind and it was thought that there was never likely to be. They had seen some people once or twice when the tower had first made its home here. Clearly it was from curiosity and after a while it seemed that no one was interested, but It knew different. It had seen them, cloaked and disguised to blend in among the darkness. Scouts, that’s what they were. Not many of them but often enough for It to know that It was also being watched. To what end It did not know, but It was prepared for anything. It was convinced that it should not underestimate any of the inhabitants of this place.

They seemed quiet and pleasant and full of spirit and life, as though it was indeed a most magical place to live. And yet It knew that this didn’t mean they wouldn’t fight or turn the minute that their world was threatened. So It waited. Quietly and patiently, spreading outward until the real moment came. It knew this was soon. It could feel it more and more everyday. The scouts visits had all but stopped, It was uneasy at the thought of this and had sent Its advisor out two days ago to observe and report back. It knew that the darkness had been spreading further and further and at a quicker rate, it would not be long now.

The large doors to Its chamber swung open, she had returned with the two soldiers she took on her observations. She was tall and beautiful with a long dark flowing dress that almost made it look like she was floating. She stopped at the balcony window and knelt down. The soldiers stayed two steps behind her and did the same.

It has begun, I believe that we need to prepare she said calmly.

There was an edge to her voice. Her next words made Its fists clench and It knew that war was upon them.

My vision is clear. He is coming.

Chapter One

Coldness kept sweeping over him, his left arm was freezing. As he opened his eyes brightness sunk in that stung, his head was pounding and he was suddenly aware of how much his body hurt. As he started to come around a little more he could see trees and felt grass underneath him. He sat up slowly and realised the coldness on his left side was water. He was at the edge of a huge lake surrounded by trees, it was beautiful. As he looked around he could see nothing more than trees and water, he looked down at himself and saw that his legs and arms were cut and grazed. His head hurt and as he held his hands up to his face he felt pain over his right eye and the fatness in his lower lip, he could taste the blood. He rolled to his knees and splashed some water on his face, he winced as it stung. Struggling to his feet he looked over the place, he could see thick trees all around but up ahead they seemed to thin a little. He headed in that direction limping slowly, his right knee was very swollen and the pain was getting worse. As he carried himself through the trees he started to feel afraid, he had no idea where he was or how he got here. He remembered the feeling of falling and the brightest light, what he couldn’t figure out is how that would have brought him here. Then a wave of fear fell over him, what if he was dead? What if this is where you end up? He started to feel dizzy but pushed himself to carry on, he could hear noises. A cracking behind him made him spin around.

Hello he called who’s there. There was no answer but he knew he wasn’t alone. As he searched with his eyes to find what or who had made the noise he started to move forward again. He saw movement in the corner of his eyes but everywhere he looked he saw nothing. He was feeling more and more scared now. The pain in his body, the fear of not knowing where he was and that he wasn’t alone was just too much. Overcome with dizziness he fell to his knees, he started to feel nauseous and as he collapsed on to his side he could see black shapes emerging from the trees. A tear ran down his cheek as he thought of his home and his family. With that he passed out.

His vision was blurry, he rubbed his eyes and stretched, he wasn’t ready to wake up. There it was again, the raucous noise that awoke him and left his ears ringing.

"JON, come on. UP. NOW"

He lay there groaning and with the only energy he had, he managed to get himself up.

"JONATHAN"

"Ok, ok I’m up Mum"

He sat on the edge of his bed and tried to gather his energy. He yawned, put his head in his hands, rubbed his face and ran his fingers through his dark blonde hair. He stood up and stretched out, as he did this he caught sight of himself in the long mirror on his wall. He looked like he hadn’t slept for a week and felt like it too, his big blue eyes looked dark and puffy and he looked paler than usual.

"I look like crap" he groaned. At fifteen years of age he was starting to actually care about that kind of thing.

He looked around the room as he stretched and thought of how his weekend would begin with cleaning the mess before him. It was quite a large room, he had a double bed pushed against one wall and a desk that held his computer and TV. He did have a wardrobe and drawers as well but most of his clothes seemed to be spread over the room at this point. Dark blue curtains were drawn over the large window, the sun was strong around the edges and you could tell it was a hot day ahead. His bedside table held a small single lamp, a glass of water, his book and his phone, which was now bleeping at him. He picked it up and read the text message that had come through. It was from Arnie.

"Be 5 mins late today, soz! Got your short story ready for Mrs Henderson? At least there is no science today, lol!!!"

Jonathan groaned and fell back on to his bed, like he needed reminding of the previous day. The run in with Mr Banks, his science teacher, had really put Jonathan in the worst mood yesterday and he just didn’t want to think about it. Although, Arnie was right, at least he didn’t have to see him today. He finished his short story last night and was ready to hand it in to Mrs Henderson today. English was his top subject, he had a talent for writing so always looked forward to the lessons. With that he picked himself back up off the bed and went to the bathroom to start getting ready, after all it was Friday and it was just a matter of hours before his weekend started.

Downstairs in the kitchen his Mum and Sister were eating breakfast at the table, Jon could smell the toast and suddenly realised how hungry he was.

"Well hello there, finally you grace us with your presence" said his Mum sarcastically. She got up and kissed his forehead and offered him tea, which he accepted with a hope that the caffeine would give him a boost. He put his bag down and went to sit at the table giving his little sister a kiss first. Sophie Brunswick was four years old, she was a cheeky little girl with mousy blonde curls and chubby cheeks. Dressed in little denim shorts and a white t-shirt, she sat at the table eating her cereal. She was going through a fairly naughty stage in her toddlerhood but she did love her big brother and enjoyed copying him and everyone else as much as possible.

"Jonny have the chocolate cereal like me" she ordered.

"Ok" he said pouring himself a bowl.

"Look Mummy we are the sames" she said giggling.

"Oh yes, so you are" she replied giving Jon his cup of tea and smiling at Sophie. Samantha Brunswick was fairly tall with long red hair and blue eyes. Her hair was dyed a deeper red to her natural colour but it suited her olive skin and made her seem younger almost. She was dressed in a blue gypsy dress that fell to the floor and was bare footed as usual.

"Happy it’s Friday" she asked Jon

"Yeah, just a bit" he said rolling his eyes

"Tough week aye? You seemed to be in a bit of a crappy mood yesterday when you got home. Everything alright?"

"Just Mr Banks again. I do like science but whenever I question anything or ask why it can’t be different, he just has a go at me. He wants me to look at things more logically and apparently keep my head out of the clouds. Yesterday I asked why time travel wasn’t possible and he told me to grow up and stop asking such stupid questions".

"What does crappy mean" asked Sophie. Jon and his Mum laughed and looked at Sophie who had a puzzled look on her face.

"Well maybe ask those kinds of questions to a different teacher. Not everyone has your imagination darling and some people can’t see beyond the end of their own nose. You have to remember that not everything is a story and there are things that are pretty boring but you need to learn them. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah I guess so" he replied tucking in to his breakfast. He knew what his Mum meant, all his school reports said the same thing every year.

"Jonathan is a very bright lad who is a pleasure to teach. However he must be more focused on the subject in hand as he tends to wander off on a tangent. He must learn to listen more carefully so that he may understand the problem better and in turn deal with it better"

His grades were good and he was liked at school by both teachers and pupils, he was a nice boy who seemed to get along with everyone. He enjoyed most of his lessons but excelled in English and he was pretty good at sports too. All in all school was quite good for Jon, his friends thought the funny stories that he told were great and he seemed to be able to come up with them so easily. He hoped that would help him become a writer in the future.

There was a knock on the patio doors and it brought Jon out of this thoughts. He looked up and saw Arnie there waving. Arnold Preston was a bit shorter than Jon and a bit slighter. He had dark skin and short dark hair with deep brown eyes to match. A pleasant lad who had a clownish sense of humour, he was Jonathan’s best friend.

"Hi Arnie" said Samantha letting him in.

"Hi Mrs B, Hi Sophie He said crossing to the table and pinching one of Sophie’s chubby cheeks. You ready mate, its warm out there so I wouldn’t bother putting your blazer on"

"Arnie I’ve got chocolate cereal. Mummy says Jon’s crappy" Sophie piped up.

"That’s not quite what I said Soph but thanks for sharing that" Samantha said through heavy laughter.

"On that note I think I’m ready mate, let’s go" said Jonathan

Jonathan kissed his Mum and Sister and the two boys set off. As he stepped outside and the heat hit him he thought of the day ahead. For some reason he had an uneasy feeling, like he was forgetting something. Something that he should be doing. At that moment out of nowhere a huge wind blew up through the trees. Jonathan jumped and gasped.

"Christ what’s up with you? asked Arnie. It’s just the wind."

"Nothing, was just daydreaming that’s all."

"I love your weirdness mate"

As they carried on walking Jon looked around, he didn’t say anything but he could have sworn that he heard a voice. A man’s voice, like it was being carried on the wind. What it said made him shiver.

SAVE US

He woke up from the memory with a start and sat up straight, his eyes searching the room around him. He still had the memory of the voice in his mind and he couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t the only time he had heard it. The last thing he remembered were the black shapes coming from the trees and closing in on him. Now he seemed to be in a warm bed with a fire burning on the other side of the room. He threw back the covers and looked at his arms and legs, his knee had been bandaged and the cuts and grazes on his arms were healing up well. There was a knock at the door and he covered himself with the covers quickly, aware that he was only in his underwear at this point.

Come in he said in a nervous voice.

A lady came in carrying a tray with a bowl of water and a cloth. She placed it on the table next to the bed and put her hand on Jon’s forehead. She had a long deep purple dress on and long dark hair with piercing green eyes.

How are you feeling, you look much better

Err I’m ok I guess, better than I was I think Jon said frowning.

Well you came to us in a bit of a state I must say, but we managed to fix you up and I’m glad you’re ok. My names Freya, this is my home and you are most welcome here

Thanks that’s really kind of you. I’m not really sure where here is though, I don’t really remember much but I know I had a nasty fall. Do you have any idea what happened asked Jon.

Well, that was a mistake I’m afraid. We weren’t totally prepared but it was so important that you came. I’m so sorry Jonathan Freya looked tired as she spoke and Jonathan could see her honesty. I’ve brought some water for you to wash up and there are clothes over there by the fireplace. I will come back shortly with some food and water for you, you must be starving. We can all talk properly then and you will know everything.

All said Jon a little confused.

Yes, there are a lot of people that have been waiting for you to wake up. Don’t worry though they won’t all be here at once

Waiting? Err Freya, how long have I been asleep asked Jon.

Freya turned to look a Jon as she headed for the door. It’s been almost five days now. With that she turned and left.

Chapter Two

Jonathan washed up and got dressed. He had been given a white linen shirt to wear with brown suede like trousers. I look like I should live in Camelot or something he said to himself Arnie would go nuts if he saw me wearing this. He sat in the chair by the fire and rubbed his eyes, he had no idea what was going on and he was more confused by the minute. He still didn’t know where he was or how he got here and certainly didn’t know how he was going to get back. He had been asleep for five days, what must his Mum and Dad be thinking. They must be worried sick. Jon started to panic a little, he had to get home. He held his head in his hands and felt the warmth coming from the fire. He couldn’t understand how he could still feel so weak and exhausted after sleeping for five days straight. With warm comfort and tiredness his mind started to drift.

Jonathan was fairly quiet at lunch. He still had the jitters from the weird voice and couldn’t really focus on much else.

"What did you write your story on Jonathan?" asked Arnie.

"Oh I can’t be bothered" he groaned putting his head on the table.

"Come on we don’t normally have to twist your arm this much to hear one of your stories?" he pleaded.

The other friends Oliver, Harrison and Josh that sat around the table with them all agreed and pressed him further.

"Well I can’t be bothered to read the whole thing so I’ll just give you a brief outline. It’s about a boy who walks in to a wood and gets lost, its well in to the night before he finds his way out and when he does, he goes home. The thing is when he gets there nobody remembers him. Friends, family, neighbours, absolutely nobody. It’s like he never existed."

"Wow, that’s freaky" said Arnie

"Can you imagine that, just nobody knowing you" Harrison mused.

The group was silent for a minute thinking about what it would be like if they were the boy in Jonathan’s story. They were jolted from their freak out by the bell, they got their stuff and headed to their forms for register.

Jonathan had sat quietly through English and when the bell went for the end of the day he felt like it just couldn’t have come sooner. He gathered up his things but his relief was short lived.

"Jon can you stay behind for a minute" said Mrs Henderson.

"Err yeah ok Jon wasn’t sure what was going on but he just wanted to leave. Arnold and Harrison were both in his English class and as they walked past Arnie said that they would wait for him outside the school. Jon sat back down and waited until the classroom had cleared before saying is everything alright Mrs Henderson?"

"I was going to say the same to you Jon? Is everything ok, you don’t really seem yourself at all"?

"Yeah I’m fine, I’ve just had a late night and I’m tired I think. I didn’t have a good day yesterday".

"Yes I heard that you had a little run in with your science teacher. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, you’re not the first child not to get along with Mr Banks. Not everyone gets on with everyone but you must try not to let it get to you so much".

"Yeah I guess so. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about Miss?" Jon was slightly puzzled as to what this was all about but surely she hadn’t made him stay to talk about Mr Banks? He was a short balding man that was about 50. He was abrupt and impatient and didn’t really seem to like children very much, and so Jonathan had never understood why he chose to be a teacher. Mrs Henderson on the other hand was lovely. She was a medium height and not very big but not slim either, she always dressed very feminine. She had a very pretty, soft looking face and long dark wavy hair right down past her shoulder blades. She was one of the nicest people Jon knew, and he would miss her being his teacher when his school year was over.

"No, no I was just asking that’s all. Mrs Henderson replied. I wanted to know because your story didn’t seem like your usual self. It was a great story don’t get me wrong, a great idea. It’s just that usually you have so much wonder and description in your stories, it’s very easy to get lost in them. Today you almost seemed rushed or stunted, so I was wondering if everything was ok". Mrs Henderson finished and looked at Jon with a kind smile.

"I don’t know really, I had so much other stuff to do and the whole Mr Banks thing really didn’t help. Maybe I just didn’t put everything